How far back in history does one have to go to find the roots of the so-called Islamic State? The first article in our series on the genesis of the terrorist outfit considers some fundamentals.

President Barack Obama and his inner circle follow the assassination of Osama bin Laden, which made headlines worldwide but is seemingly unimportant four years on.
EPA/Pete Souza/White House handoutMay 20, 2015

Memories of the killing of Osama bin Laden are fading, but the legacies of al-Qaeda and the war on terror's many 'own goals' haunt us in the form of multiplying threats and lost civil liberties.

Families cross the Euphrates River seeking the relative safety of Baghdad as Islamic State fighters advance with the goal of creating such violence that people turn from the government to any force capable of restoring peace.
EPA/Ahmed JalilApril 28, 2015

With Islamic State’s advance in Iraq and Syria gripping the world’s attention, al-Qaeda has been left on the sidelines. That all changed on September 4, as al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri released a 55-minute…

A child is vaccinated against polio during a three-day nationwide campaign to eradicate polio, in Karachi, Pakistan, May 2014.
EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBERMay 21, 2014

A lot has been written about Zero Dark Thirty’s torture narrative. Alex Gibney, whose Taxi to the Dark Side traced the abuses of the Bush torture system, gives one of the best accounts. Having seen the…

The Guardian recently reported the death of a female volunteer in a polio vaccination program in Kapisa province, Afghanistan, who was shot six times and later died in hospital. The shooting has rightly…

The past few days have seen a flurry of prognostications on al-Qaeda and its future. While each argument spars over whether al-Qaeda is on the ropes or resurgent, they miss a vital segment of analysis…

Mourners will gather on the site of the Twin Towers to remember 9/11 victims today.
AFP/Alex FuchsSeptember 11, 2011

Ten years ago today, on September 11th 2001, al-Qaida terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. Passengers on a fourth jet overpowered hijackers, bringing…

Will some US troops remain in Afghanistan to guarantee security or will they all be withdrawn?
AAPJune 26, 2011

On Wednesday, absent the flight suit, President Obama gave his own version of George W. Bush’s “mission accomplished” speech. His temporary escalation of 33,000 troops in Afghanistan had worked. A third…

The western liberal’s capacity for self-flagellation is seemingly endless. There is no enemy that the liberal west did not create. There is no inhumanity that the west did not begin. There is no crime…

Osama bin Laden is dead - assassinated a fortnight ago by bullets sprayed from the guns of special armed forces of the United States. During the wild celebrations that followed, the word “assassination…

Under the rule of law bin Laden should have been captured.
AFP/Jim WatsonMay 11, 2011

In the extensive debate about the killing of Osama bin Laden there has been very little discussion of the legal (and possibly moral) aspects of the US operation. This is especially true in the United States…

It has been reported that Osama bin Laden’s hard drives have been seized, hard drives that could conceivably contain information regarding the membership, funding and future plans of al-Qaeda. Information…

Osama bin Laden masterminded the 9/11 attacks, but his death won’t mean an end to the terror threat.
AFP/Doug KanterMay 4, 2011

The US military’s assassination of Osama bin Laden in North Pakistan is an important landmark in the “war on terror”. As the leader of al Qaeda he was the primary target of the military campaign to defeat…